Yes, I know that there are a thousand mushy blog posts out there to celebrate the day of romance. And Mrs Felix woke up to the fragrance of roses gently wafting through the room.
But you know, for those sitting home alone on such a holiday, thinking to themselves "no sugar tonight", I thought I would offer a bit of consolation. I thought I would take a slight break from our usual progression and celebrate Valentine's day with a brief overview of Circle II - the circle of the lustful in Dante's Inferno.
Into this torment carnal sinners thrust,
so I was told - the sinners who make their reason
Bond thrall under the yoke of their lust.
Like as the starlings whell in the wintry season
In wide and clustering flocks wing borne, wind borne
Even so they go, the souls who did this treason
Hither and thither, and up and down, outworn,
Hopeless of any rest - rest did I say?
Of the least minishing of their pangs forlorn.
So if you find yourself dateless on this date, imagine only these verses of the poet on the cards accompanying the over priced roses - the flowers of romance and the thorns of lust! Scoff at them!! Or at least watch TV...
What Dante encounters in this circle of Hell are the souls of the lovers whose "love" was not governed and guided by "reason". Don't get him wrong: love expressed in sexual form is part of the good of creation. But like every good thing, it can be misused. in this circle of Hell he encounters those who "make there reason bond thrall under the yoke of their lust". What is the nature of lust in Dante? It is to have our sexual appetites run wild and uncontrolled. And so they are driven hither and thither by a hot howling wind. It is the image of being subject to forces which seem to drive us arbitrarily. It is an image of the soul losing control over itself.
It is worth noting that the "lustful" are pretty far up in Hell, not really far down. Just so, their repentant counterparts are very high up on Mount Purgatory. That is because lust is a flawed attempt at love. It is not a sheer descent into hatred. And at least in this sin, there is a desire for community and mutuality - it is not here a particularly "selfish" sin. It seeks what is good - mutual love, but seeks it in the wrong way. And to succumb to lust is to be blown about forever, at the whim of that hot wind.
Happy Valentine's Day.
post series: Dante's Divine Comedy
dear joe,
i hope you got my e-mail or their may be a tap surprise for you.
cpm
Posted by: cpm | February 14, 2008 at 10:15 PM
I hope that's an "on tap" surprise...
Posted by: joseph | February 15, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Well I am sure I owe you at least one by now.
CPM
Posted by: cpm | February 15, 2008 at 11:58 AM
speaking of on tape suprises, are you free on thursday?
Posted by: Anthony | February 19, 2008 at 02:10 AM
Thursday this week is pretty booked up, and then I've got a conference to get ready for in Toronto. - I'll be back in town next Friday.
Posted by: joseph | February 19, 2008 at 10:09 AM